Air-blast flue and nozzle for cotton gins



June 16, 1925. 1,542,293

G. E. EVANS AIR BLAST FLUE AND NOZZLE FOR COTTON GINS Filed Dec. 10, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l June 16, 1925. 1,542,293

. G. E. EVANS AIR BLAST FLUE AND NOZZLE FOR co'r'rou GINS Filed Dec. 10, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 It is customary Patented June 16, 1925.

' Gnonen n. EVANS, or WACO, TEXAS.

AIR-BLASTFLUE'AND NOZZLE son COTTON ems.

I ,Application and December 10, 1923. Serial No. 679,589.

To all whom z't may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. EVANS, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Waco, in the county of McLen nan and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air- ,Blast Flues and Nozzles for Cotton Grins,

of which the followingis a specification.

This invention'relates tonew and useful improvements inair blast fines and nozzles for cotton gins.

gin now commonly built, to make the flues stationary andto provide the nozzle with anqopening ofaboutonc-quarter of an inch. This does not permitany variation of the volume of airejected from the nozzle. .It

is obvious that whenithe saws are sharpened by filing, they arereducedin diameter and witha. stationary flue the distancezbetween the teeth of the-saw and the nozzle would" thus-be increased. These conditions often cause. counter alr currents and the cotton vfibres either clogjthe mouth of the lint flue or are blown over the same. The counter air currents cause a .back-lash or counter suction and interfere with proper ginning.

Theobject of my invention is to eliminate these objectionable features, make for better ginningand to effect a saving in power required for producing the air blast orfsuce tion. I

A articular objectiof the invention is to provlde an air nozzle having .a variable opening,whereby the volume of air emitted may be'increased or decreased as isdesired; together with means for effecting this adjustment. from the outside of the gin while the sameis operating and without disturbing or adjusting other parts.

A further object ,sftoprovide means for adjusting the flue structure either trans versely, arcuately or vertically, so as to compensate for the reduction in saw diameter due to sharpening'or to adjust the mouth of the lint flue to promote more eflicient .n i r g-v i IAnotherobject of the invention is to pro vide means for amplifyingthe 'moting, particularly where the saws arenot revolving am sufficient speed to 1 properly mote by l entr ligel'tct nq dvantage Of vthe inventioniisthat it enables 'the construction of a jointed flue structure which may taken apart, and

readily nest es} a in the air blast cotton fi s,

'A construction designed to carry out the invention together with other novel objects of the invention will be hereinafter de-, scribed.

fication and by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which an example of the invention is shown and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a sectional View of a gin constructed in accordance with my invention,

Fig. 2 isa verticalsectional view of gin constructed in accordance with my invention and having two saw, cylinders and two Fig. 3 is an'enlarged sectional view of the flues andnozzle,

Fig. 4 is an elevation a s. V

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line5-5 of Fig. 4, I Fig. 6 is, an enlarged sectional view of the upper end of one of the flue end frames, and

Fig.

means,

In the drawings the numeral 10 desigof the adjusting nates a saw cylinder shaft, 11 the saws and 'hasoutwardly directed marginal flanges 15 and 16 respectively. A metal sheet 17 is bolted to the rear flanges16; while a sheet 18 is bolted to the front flange 15. The sheets with the end plates form an air flue 19.

Vertical end plates 20 have marginal flanges 21 and 22, respectively, as is shown in Fig.6. The flanges 21 are bolted to the sheet 18 and the'flanges 15. A front sheet 23 is bolted to the flanges 22 and with the plates 20 and the sheet 18,jforms a lint flue 24. The sheets 17 and 18 are carried around the under side of the collar 13 and have theirends formed into a slip socket 25 extending longitudinally of the flue. A top sheet 26 is slipped into the socket 25. The sheet 23of the lint flue is curved under the sheet 18 on an increasing radius, whereby the lint flue is flared downwardly. The

7 is adetail of the nozzle adjusting litted in the socket 28. It will be seen that the air and lint fines may be disconnected at any time from the cotton flue.

A transversely curved; nozzle member 30 extends longitudinally across the upper ends of the flanges 16 just under the saws. This member is of thicker material than the sheets so as to give ridigity and forms part of the nozzle. The end plates 14 are formed with a bearing seat 31 and each is slotted above its seat to receive a keeper member 32 fastened with a transverse bolt 33.

A longitudinal nozzle sleeve 34 isprovided in each end' with eccentric plugs 35 connected by an adjusting shaft 36. The ends of the sleeve engage the plates 14 and the plugs have trunnions 37 engaging in the seats 31. One of these trunnions i-g.. 5) has an ear 38 which is pivoted to a universal joint 39-. An indicating dial 40 is fastened on the outer side of the gin housing 41 through 'which the joint 39 extends. 'A

crank 42 is fastened on the square end 43 of the joint and has a lug 44 for engaging the graduations of the dial. The crank has. a handle 45 by which itmay be swung.

It will be seen that when the crank is rotated or swung in an arc the shaft 36 will be li'kewisem'oved through the agency of the joint 39. This will swing the eccentrics 35. By observing Fig. 7 it will be seen that by swinging'the eccentrics to the right the sleeve 34, which is at the forward side of the nozzle, will be moved toward the member 30, whereby the blast from the nozzle will be reduced, through the restriction of the nozzle opening. 7 By swinging the eccentrics to the left as is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7, the sleeve is moved away from the member 30 and toward a mote bar 46 fastened between the upper ends of the plates 20 and on the flanges 22. This will increase the flow of air from the nozzle and decrease the area of the opening or mouth of the lint flue, thus promoting over the bar 46. Either of these adjustments can be easily made by swinging the crank 42.

In installing the sleeve 34 the eccentrics 35 are positioned with their greatest radius on the vertical axis of the sle eve and th adjustments previously described can be easily andquickly made; It will be appreciated that when the cotton being ginned is green or damp, a greater volume of air is required to strip the lint from the teeth of the saws, than is required under normal ginning co n ditions; Thus by adjusting the sleeve 34 to reduce the volume for dry cotton a great saving in the power required to create the air currents, is effected. The adjustments permitted by my device will also tend to eliminate back pressure on other gin stands in the same "battery.

I desire to point out that the air and lint lilies may be constructed "in any suitable value, but not necessarily essential to the invention.-. In ordenpto close the gap between the under side of the sleeve 34 and the sheet 18, I provide an apron 47 which has its upper edge bent and hooked into a transverse slot 48 in the front side of the sleeve.

The apron has'its lower portion bent upon itself and formed with an elongated slip socket 49 receiving the upper edge of the sheet 18 and allowing for a full vertical adjustment of the sleeve, during which the apron slides vertically. Any other means suitable for the purpose may be employed.

I have found it expedient to make provision for bodily adjusting'the fines either vertically with relation to the saws, transversely orarcuately. lVhile various means may be employed for adjusting the flues, I have found a screw adjustment to be satisfactory. At the upper ends of the fines I bracket .50 in which a machine screw 51 is threaded so as to bear against the sheet 17 at its oint of attachment to the flange 16. A jam nut 51 on the screw engages the bracket to fasten the screw in place." "I also provide brackets 52 in which screws 53 are mounted and provided with jamb nuts 53'. The screws 53 engage the front of the lint fine opposite the screws 51, so that the fiues are held between the screws 51 and 53.

For supporting the collar 13 provide three equally spaced brackets 54 at each end of the housing and mount machine screws 55 in said brackets which screws are provided with jamb nuts 55. The screws 55 engaging the collars at equi-distant points support the same for rotation and thus by a proper adjustment of the screws 51 and 53 the upper end of the flue structure may be swung in an arc. By such an adjustment the nozzle and the mouth of the lint flue may be properly positioned with relation to the saws. By swinging the mouth of the lint flue forward, the same effect would be had, so far as mating is concerned, as is ,ef fected by adjusting the sleeve 34 forwardly. It is obvious that a proper adjustment of the screws will permit the flue structure to be moved transversely or vertically. YVhen the saws are sharpened they are reduced in d am te and ve t al adjustm n f the fines is very essential .to maintain a proper relation with the'saw teeth. 7

' In Fig. 2 Ihave shown the invention as applied to a gin having two saw cylinders and two sets of lines, but as the parts are duplicated the same reference nuinerals have been applied to both sets and a further delint flue under the space blocks of the saw cylinders I do not wish to limit the applicaof the flues is a valuable addition it is not essential to the adjustment of the airnozzle.

What I claim, is: I 1. In a cotton gin, the combination with a saw cylinder, of an air blast flue having a nozzle contiguous to the saw cylinder, of an adjustable member movable relative to an opposite wall for restricting and amplifying the .air opening of the nozzle, whereby the volume of air directed against the teeth of the saw cylinder may be decreased or increased, and an imperforate lint flue having a restricted mouth contiguous to said means and'below the saws, said air nozzle and flue mouth being open to atmospheric pressure.

2. In a cotton gin, the combination with a, saw cylinder, of an air blast flue having a nozzle contiguous to the saw cylinder,'of an adjustable member movable relative to an opposite wall for restricting and'amplifying the air opening of the nozzle, whereby the volume of air directed against the teeth of the saw cylinder may be decreased or increased, a lint flue having a restricted mouth contiguous to said means, said nozzle and flue mouth being open to atmospheric pressure, and a device operable from the outside of the gin and connected to said member for adjusting the same. i

3. In a cotton gin, the combination with a saw cylinder, an air blast flue having a noz-' zle contiguous to the saw cylinder, of a member adjustable in the nozzle for varying the air discharge opening thereof, and a lint flue having a restricted mouth contiguous to said member and adjusted in area by said member coincident to the variation of the air opening.

4. In a cotton gin, the combination with a saw cylinder, an air blast flue having a nozzle contiguous to the saw cylinder, of a member adjustable in the nozzle for varying the area of the air discharge opening of said nozzle, a lint flue, having a restricted mouth contiguous to said member, and a movable apron carried by the member and varying the space between the said member and the opposite side of the lint flue.

5. In a cotton gin, the combination with a saw cylinder, and an air blast flue having a nozzle contiguous to the saw cylinder, of a longitudinal sleeve adjustable in the mouth of the nozzle for varying the area of the air discharge opening of said nozzle,-means for adjusting said sleeve, and a lint flue having its mouth contiguous to the sleeve.

6. In a cotton gin, the combinationwith a saw cylinder, and an air blast flue having a nozzle contiguous to the saw cylinder, of a' longitudinal sleeve adjustable in the mouth of the nozzle for varying the area of the air discharge opening of said nozzle, means for adjusting said sleeve, a lint flue having its mouth contiguous to the sleeve,cthere being an opening between the under side of the sleeve and the back wall of the lint flue, and an adjustable apron carried by said sleeve and closing said opening.

7 In a cotton gin, the combination with a saw cylinder, of an air and lint flue structure having a nozzle and a mouth diametrically beneath the cylinder, and means for bodily adjusting the structure radially and arouately with relation to the saw cylinder.

8. In a'cotton gin, the combination with a saw cylinder, of a combined air and lint flue structure having an air nozzle and a lint flue mouth at its upper end, means for supporting the lower end of the structure for rotation, and means for adjusting the upper end of the structure in an arc with relation to the cylinder.

9. In a cotton gin, the combination with a saw cylinder, of an upright air flue having a nozzle at its upper end located under the saws, a lint flue contiguous to the air flue having a restricted mouth in juxtaposition to the nozzle, and under the saws, and a member adjustable in the nozzle obstructing the passage of air transversely across the saw teeth to the mouth of the air flue and for varying the opening of the nozzle and coincidently the inlet area of the lint flue.

10. In a cotton gin, the combination with a saw cylinder, of an upright air flue having a nozzle at its upper end located under the for varying the opening of the nozzle and coincidently theinlet area of the lint flue.

In testimonywhereof I aflix my signature.

GEORGE E, EVANS, 

